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The unexpected death of Dusty Rhodes left the wrestling business in tears. The American Dream was an integral part of the industry for nearly five decade and certainly left a void which will never be filled. Throughout his illustrious career, Dusty gave us a lot of memories to cherish. The most prominent ones from the lot will be his promos.
The way in which Dusty worked with the microphone will always be remembered by the fans. And in his long career, he was involved in some memorable feuds too. The legend had a lot of standout rivalries through his career and here is a look at the best ones.
Tully Blanchard
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The feud between Tully Blanchard and Dusty Rhodes started back in 1985. Initially, they fought over the NWA television title that belonged to Blanchard. Rhodes ended the 353-day reign of Blanchard with a win. Blanchard, however, won the title back later only to lose it again to Dusty in a steel cage match. The match also saw Dusty win the services of Blanchard’s manager, Baby Doll. This was a 30-day deal and once it came to an end, Blanchard fired Baby Doll and slapped her.
This reignited the feud between the Dusty and Blanchard. A series of brutal matches followed and the feud finally came to an end when Blanchard was booked against Magnum TA. Blanchard would again feud with Dusty as part of the Four Horsemen.
Harley Race
Dusty Rhodes won the NWA World heavyweight championship thrice in his career. Two of those wins came at the expense of Harley Race. Race had a habit of touring extensively over the country which landed him against Dusty on various occasions. The first championship clash between the two men came in 1979. Dusty won the title to end the 926-day reign of Harley.
Harley, however, came back strong and won the title back just five days later. Dusty would then win it back from Harley two years later in another excellent match. The title exchanges that Dusty had with Harley are still among the classics. And it is only fitting to include Harley in the list of Dusty’s best rivals.
Superstar Billy Graham
Vince McMahon Sr.’s World Wide Wresting Federation (WWWF) saw a great feud between Superstar Billy Graham and Dusty Rhodes. Billy was the reigning champion of WWWF during that time and needed a great opponent to make his reign a successful reign. And the pick went to Dusty.
Graham and Dusty went on to have a lot of matches filled with blood. Two most memorable matches from this feud happened in the legendary Madison Square Garden. The WWWF title was up for grabs in both occasions. The first match went to Dusty via a count out when the second match was won by Graham. The second match was a Texas Death match and Graham won through a mid-ring collision, which was enough to keep Dusty down for the three count.
The Four Horsemen
The series of War Games matches that Four Horsemen had with Dusty and his allies is enough to earn a place in this list. The feud between Dusty Rhodes and the Horsemen happened mainly due to the friction that Dusty had with Blanchard and Ric Flair. The formation of the Horsemen forced Dusty to find some allies as well. Nikita Koloff and the Road Warrior came to his help.
Dusty Rhodes participated in 11 War Games matches throughout his career. In that, he went up against Four Horsemen on nine occasions. This stat is enough to show how legendary the feud between these two parties was back during those days.
Ric Flair
Ric Flair was hands down the best opponent of Dusty Rhodes. The National Wrestling Association made a lot of money with these two. This was also the foundation for the Four Horsemen feud that was mentioned earlier. Flair was arrogant and cocky and was unmatched when it came to those traits. Dusty travelled a similar path so when these two met, it was an epic collision.
Flair won his first ever NWA heavyweight championship by defeating Dusty Rhodes. The year was 1981 and Flair then went on to have a 476-day reign. The Reign saw him become the most over wrestler across the territories and it all started thanks to the match that he had with Rhodes.
